Hi everyone … I am very excited to be making my first post to the Science Life blog. I’m Eric, a newly minted (and as yet unemployed, so you may be seeing a lot of me) Immunology PhD. I read a lot of news, and I find myself both fascinated by interesting viewpoints and dismayed by idiocy and ignorance in approximately equal proportion. I hope to rave and rant (respectively) about these types of news in the future, but today I discovered an article ABOUT ignorance.

A survey was done comparing the views of the American public to those of American scientists on a number of issues. Unsurprisingly, there were significant differences. What was surprising was that “According to the survey, about a third of Americans think there is lively scientific debate on [evolution and global warming]; in fact, there is no credible scientific challenge to the theory of evolution and there is little doubt that human activity is altering the chemistry of the atmosphere in ways that threaten global climate.”

This suggests that much of the blame for scientific ignorance in the general public lies with scientists. Clearly scientists have been unable to properly communicate the realities of scientific research and theory with the general public. “In a telephone news conference announcing the survey, Alan I. Leshner, chief executive of the science association, said scientists must find new ways to engage with the public.” Blogs such as this one are a fantastic way to do this, and I have applauded Greg from the minute he started Science Life NY. Now I am thrilled to be participating myself. I hope he (we) can encourage non-scientists and scientists alike to experience the events, videos, and articles we link to, in order to promote better understanding between the public and the scientific community.

Find the whole article here.